Only In My Dreams
by Doverit
Summary: Rick has a sex dream about Daryl.


"S'ok, I've got this, Rick." Daryl said, ushering their exhausted leader into an empty upstairs bedroom of his assigned house. "You rest now." He insisted, ignoring Rick's feeble protests.

Rick couldn't remember ever being this tired, and that was saying something. His feet felt like lead as he dragged his weary body over to the bed. He slumped down to sit down on the edge of the mattress. His head and arms hanging limply in front of him.

He could hear Daryl huff disapprovingly from the bedroom doorway. Then, walk over and kneel down in front of him.

"M'good. Go on." Rick mumbled. He could barely keep his bleary-eyes open.

His friend ignored him. Rick cracked open one heavy eye-lid to find the top of Daryl's shaggy head bent over in front of him, working to unlace and remove his boots. Too tired to argue any further, Rick lay back on the bed and let him do it.

He must have dozed-off for a moment, because the next thing he sees is Daryl's hands at his waist, quietly undoing his pants.

"_Wha...?_" He managed before his friend hushed him.

"A real rest, Rick. Not one of these half-ass cat-naps you've been catching. You're running yourself ragged. You're no good to us like this." Daryl explained as he worked.

Rick managed a grunt and Daryl chuckled. "Yeah, that's how I know I'm right. You're too tired to argue." He teased.

"Just try and get some sleep? Abraham and Rosita are on watch. The rest of us are all playing our parts here." He continued, unzipping Rick's pants and wiggling them down off his hips.

It did feel good to get the heavy fabric off his weary body. Rick had gotten so used to sleeping fully-dressed, always at the ready, that he'd almost forgotten how nice it felt

to be comfortable when he rested. He brought his hands to his uniform shirt and attempted to unbutton it himself, but found his fingers weren't working quite right.

"Impatient, aren't ya? I was getting to it." Daryl chided. He felt his pants being slithered off his legs, then the bed dipped as his friend stretched out beside him. He batted Rick's hands away from his shirt and deftly finished unbuttoning it for him. The leader closed his eyes again and sighed.

Grasping Rick's shoulders, Daryl gently rolled him from side to side, tugging the fabric off his muscular torso as he went. The hunter's strong hands whispered over Rick's bare skin, tingling wherever they touched as he worked to completely remove his uniform shirt without disturbing him too much.

It felt strange, all this coddling. Strange, but really nice, Rick thought. He couldn't remember the last time someone took care of him like this. Maybe not since he was a child.

Daryl's rough, calloused fingers pressed in on a particularly sore area on his shoulder as he moved him and Rick couldn't help but groan. Embarrassment flooded over him at how needy he sounded, but Daryl didn't seem to care. The hunter wiggled his fingers over the tender area until, huffing out a noise of approval, he pin-pointed the sore spot. "Shit, you're tight here." He murmured, his strong fingers prodding deeper into the muscle.

Rick tried to pull away, but Daryl held fast. "Said I got you." He murmured, his sure, hands rubbing a steady pace over Rick's entire shoulder. "Don't think on it. Just let

me take care of you." He soothed, his voice little more than a pleasing rumble as his hands continued to work their magic.

Rick leaned into him. Every pass of the hunter's hands over his bare skin soothed him, lulling him into an almost dreamlike state. His touch was perfect. So perfect, that Rick couldn't help but moan as he worked. He couldn't stop the sounds from bubbling out. What Daryl was doing to him just felt so good.

Too good, actually. Daryl was only touching his shoulder, only trying to help him get some much needed rest, but somehow Rick could feel echo's of his friend's steady touch throughout his entire body. And despite his utter exhaustion, Rick couldn't stop his body's automatic response. His blood warmed and his pulse quickened, making his cock stir and stiffen in his underwear. There was no way Daryl didn't notice.

Shit.

Mortified, Rick tried to pull away, roll to his side... _anything_, to help hide his reaction, but Daryl wouldn't let him. Groaning his embarrassment, Rick opened his eyes to find his friend staring down at him, his blue-eyes so focused on him, it made the leader feel trapped, helpless under the weight of his intense stare.

"Said I wanna take care of you. You gonna make me beg?" He asked quietly, his gaze still locked tight to Rick's.

Strong hands that had been kneading sore muscles only a moment ago were now skimming seductively over his bare chest and stomach, making Rick squirm and gasp under Daryl's sure touch.

Rick's head was spinning. This was crazy. What the hell was happening? He opened his mouth to try and speak, to gain some clarity over the situation, but before he could, Daryl's lips found his, effectively silencing any thoughts he hoped to have.

Rick gasped as the hunter's lips moved purposely against his own. Their tongues slid together, sharing hot, wet caresses that made Rick's blood pound and his cock throb.

"Been wanting this Rick. Been wanting _you_." Daryl murmured possessively against his lips, both men panting into their shared air.

Rick could only nod his agreement and watch, mesmerized, as Daryl snaked his fingers down below his waistband and wrapped his hand firmly around his stiff length.

"Daryl!" He groaned, his body arching-up and throbbing as the hunter immediately began to rub over him. Each tight stroke over his fevered-flesh making Rick shudder and moan.

Daryl was everywhere, all at once. He mouth nipped and licked hungrily over Rick's sensitive neck while his hand continued to stroke steady over his hard length. Pleasure was coursing through the leader in ever increasing waves. It was all so good. It was all too much. Nothing had ever felt as good as Daryl's hands, Daryl's mouth. Rick's whole body tingled and shook helplessly. His cock leaked-freely over his friend's hand, lubricating each delicious stroke with precome as Daryl pumped steadily over Rick's hard flesh, making him desperate.

"Fuck..._Daryl!_" He moaned, writhing against him, seeking more and more of everything he was giving him. More of every wonderful thing he was doing to his body.

The hunter never slowed. He kept up his relentless pace, little moans escaping him as well as he clearly enjoyed pleasing Rick, pushing the leader closer and closer to the edge.

"So fucking _good!_" Rick moaned out, his body tensed, hands pulling tight on the sheets beneath him as Daryl loved him.

"Fuck Rick...wanna taste you so bad." He heard the hunter groan, giving Rick only a moments warning before he leaned down to take him into his mouth.

"_Daryl...!_" Rick gasped and fisted the sheets, knuckles going white from tension as the hunter's warm, wet mouth suddenly surrounded him, licking and sucking over his cock's swollen, rose-colored head while his hand continued to pump steadily over the hard shaft. Rick couldn't help but cry-out from the exquisite feel of it. Seeking relief, his hips stuttered, automatically thrusting-up into Daryl's willing mouth.

The hunter's eyes flicked up at him, watching his panting, heaving form writhe from his doing. His blue-eyes were wild. Rick could see he was loving having him so debauched, so undone _because of him_. His obvious desire for him sent a fresh surge of pleasure pulsing through Rick, and suddenly he was right there. Sensing his need, Daryl relaxed his throat muscles and took him in deep, gagging a little as he began to move steady over his throbbing length.

"Fuck! _Oh God_...Daryl!" Rick groaned, watching as his friend shoved him right over the edge into total bliss.

Sobbing from the intense pleasure, he closed his eyes as his body peaked, coming hard, shooting down Daryl's eager throat. Streams of thick come pulsing out steady with every throb of his orgasm. Rick melted, utterly-spent onto the covers beneath him, still twitching through the aftershocks as he struggled to catch his breath and come back to reality.

"Rick?" He dimly heard Daryl's voice through the haze.

"Hmmm?" He murmured reluctantly, just wanting to sleep now.

"Rick?" Daryl called again, shaking him this time, forcing the leader's weary-eyes open to focus on him. The hunter looked distressed, his expression totally different from the blissed-out look he wore just moments ago. The total change startled Rick, as he struggled to shake-off his sleep and wake-up.

Things were definitely off. What appeared solid reality only a few moments ago, seemed to crumble completely away as he became more and more alert and aware of his surroundings. It was disorienting. Taking stock, he looked down, shocked to see he was still fully-dressed, lying on top of the blankets on the bed. His shoes and socks were off, stacked neatly off to the side where Daryl had left them. And to his horror, Rick became aware of warm, sticky wetness seeping underneath the front zipper panel of his jeans.

_Shit_

A fucking sex dream.

About Daryl. _Fuck_

"You ok?" Daryl asked, scanning over Rick with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah." Rick mumbled, embarrassment coloring his face as he rolled to his side, trying to cover the wetness in his jeans best he could with the corner of the blanket he was laying on.

"You've been out awhile. Came up to check and heard you calling my name." Daryl said matter-of-factly, but Rick could hear the question lingering in his tone. He was quiet as he waited for an explanation. Rick wouldn't..._couldn't_ meet his friend's curious gaze.

What the hell could he say? I had a dream that you jerked and sucked me off? I called your name because you touched me, loved me, made me come so hard I nearly blacked-out?

Rick scrubbed his hand down over his face before meeting his friend's gaze. He tried to school his features, but this was _Daryl_. The one damn person left in this world who could read him like a book.

Rick shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Nightmare, I guess." He mumbled, hoping his friend would just drop it. "Eugene get the generator's up and running?" He asked.

Daryl nodded, his gaze never wavering from Rick's as he all but ignored his feeble attempt at changing the subject. The leader wanted to get angry at his friend's intrusion, wanted to yell at him to just buzz-off and leave him be. He did none of those things. Instead he just let this awkward moment play out between them.

Truth is, he'd had these feelings and desires about Daryl for awhile, and he suspected that they weren't so one-sided either. He'd seen how his friend would look at him, when he thought no one was paying attention. Rick recognized it because it was the same look he'd level at the hunter when he was feeling overwhelmed by his emotions for him. Neither man felt inclined to take the initiative to give it a name, explore what it could mean, what it might become.

And truthfully, Rick was okay with that. He like how things were with Daryl now, steady...stable. He never needed to worry about where they stood. Daryl was the one thing in this world he knew he could always count on. They were rock solid, and anything that might change that dynamic, he couldn't help but view as a threat. Not now at any rate. He shot his friend a wary glance, all but pleading with him to just let it go as the familiar fear over his feelings for Daryl settled over him, almost suffocating him with their ferocity.

As if he could truly read his thoughts, Daryl looked away and sighed. "Maggie said to tell you dinner's ready." He said, his voice sounding tired and sad.

"Thanks." Rick replied softly. "Be down in a moment."

Daryl nodded and got up to leave. Pausing at the door, he turned back. "You know I've got your back, right? Not just when we're out there, but always. You don't need to be…afraid, to have _nightmares_ and such when I'm always right here." He stammered, blushing a little as he carefully chose his words, trying to say without saying what they both needed to hear.

Rick looked at him, a small-smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah…same goes, Daryl. I'm always here. Always gonna be here." He said, watching his friend nod that he'd heard, and turn back to leave. "Means more than you know." Rick added, making the hunter pause. His back still to him, Daryl nodded once more before heading back downstairs.

It wasn't what either of them wanted, but it was enough for now. Alone with his thoughts, Rick cleaned-up and got ready for dinner.

The End


End file.
